Israel launches $24 million program to strengthen cyber industry
The Israel Innovation Authority along with the Israeli Ministry of Economy and Industry and the National Cyber Directorate confirmed on Tuesday that a dedicated program to strengthen Israel’s cyber industry has been launched, estimated to cost NIS 90 million over the next three years.
Israeli Minister of Economy and Industry, Eli Cohen, said in a statement on Tuesday that the program “will ensure that Israel continues to meet the cyber sector’s biggest challenges, secure our place at the forefront of innovation, and bolster Israel’s global leadership in this critical industry.”
Director General of the Israel National Cyber Directorate, Yigal Unna praised the government's commitment to “preserving and strengthening Israel’s global cyber leadership, one of the most significant engines of the hi-tech industry’s growth.”
“A significant part of the investment will be directed toward upgrading CyberSpark, the Israel Cyber Innovation Arena in Beersheba, to further strengthen its position as a global cyber hub. Together with the Israel Innovation Authority, we will enable Israel’s cyber industry to continue leading the way in global technological innovation,” Unna added.
The Industrial park CyberSpark is located in the city of Beersheba in the Negev desert, causing a real estate boom to the city due to the thousands of workers who have moved there.
The program will invest in technologies with “gamechanger” potential on a global level, fund support for companies moving from the development stage to the testing and demonstration stage, as well as allocate resources to CyberSpark.
As part of the program, cyber defense companies will be able to receive funding in long-term, groundbreaking research and development (R&D) where companies can receive up to 66% of their R&D expenditure for a given project, and up to NIS 5 million per year for the project.
Pilot programs will also be able to receive funding in a number of ways; up to 30% financing for a program with an approved budget of up to NIS 1 million for a single pilot in Israel; up to 50% financing for a program with an approved budget of up to NIS 1.5 million for a single pilot outside Israel; and finally up to 50% financing for a program with an approved budget of up to NIS 2.5 million for two pilots outside Israel.
The program also intends to meet cyber challenges in arenas undergoing significant change, such as health, transportation, and finance by convening international industrial players, regulators, academics, and Israel’s cyber industry to create solutions.
“The local cyber ecosystem is very developed and wins acclaim around the world. Despite significant investment from VCs who have expressed faith in the local cyber market, many companies face challenges in finding suitable sites to test their technologies. This new program solves this issue and will significantly accelerate companies’ growth and penetration into the global market,” CEO of the Israel Innovation Authority, Aharon Aharon said.
Israel exported cyber security worth $3.8 billion in 2017 and is ranked among the top 10% in cyber academic research.
In June, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attended the 8th Annual International Cyber security Conference at Tel Aviv University, where he presented a simulated cyber attack to illustrate the possible danger which Israel faces.
Netanyahu showed the audience a video with the following text;
“This conference has just been hacked. Ironic, isn’t it? A conference dedicated to cyber security being hacked. We are based in a country not far from Israel. That’s all you need to know for now. The bank accounts of everyone sitting in this hall have just been frozen. The intellectual property of your companies is in our hands, so are your private conversations. This information is being sent to your competition and your enemies.”
Netanyahu then addressed the 8000 attendees, warning that foreign states can take over vital systems which runs Israel.
"This is not far-fetched. In the jargon they say, state actors could do much worse; no, not state actors – states. States can do much worse. They can do everything that you heard here and much more. They can cripple our most sensitive systems. They can even take over, literally take over, some of those vital systems,” he warned.
Last year, Israel's Cyber Defense Authority announced that it had uncovered the existence of an organized series of cyber-attacks with some 120 targets – a coordinated attack that a senior Israeli official told the Haaretz newspaper was believed to have been directed by a foreign government.